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(110M058!) W. E. LINDOP.

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APPARATUSTOR CHANGING AND STORING PHOTOGRAPHERS BAOKGROUNDS, 8:0.

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APPARATUS FOR CHANGING AND STORING PHOTOGRAPHERS BAGKGROUNDS, &c.

W-J'Patented July 1'7, 1883..

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WITNESSES: A INVENTOR':

46. BY M ATTORNEYS.

' UNITED; STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. LINDOP, OF ST. THOMAS, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLOTTE FRANCES LINDOI, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS FOR CHANGING AND STORING PHOTOGRAPHERS BACKGROUNDS, &c. v

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 281,532, dated July 17, 1883.

Application filed March 9, 1883.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILL'IAM E. LINDoP, of St. Thomas, in the Province of Ontario and Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and Improved Apparatus for Changing and Storing Photographers Backgrounds and other Movable Scenery, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention consists of a gate on which the backgrounds used in photographic galleries are to be hung or suspended for use, by means of rollers and rails so contrived that the background may be readily run off and on the gate to and from other rails, together with a series of stalls, each having rails to receive a background, and with any one of which the gate may be brought into range by swinging on its hinge for the purpose, so that a background from any one of the stalls may be run on it at will. The hinge of the gate is preferably of a cranked or eccentric character, to al low of shifting the position of the background at will, for the benefit of placing it in different positions. Where plenty of room is available for the stalls of the backgrounds to be extended in a straight line from the gate,the backgrounds may be of rigid construction; but where the space is not suflicient for such arrangement, I propose to contrive the backgrounds in flexible construction, and make the stalls to curve, so as to turn corners and to run in circles, in whole or in part, if need be, to store the backgrounds in smaller space, all as hereinafter fully described.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevationof the gate, part of a background, and a series of stalls contrived according to my invention, the background being flexible, and the stalls being curved suitably for turning a corner to dispose the backgrounds along the side of a room. Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the apparatus, showing the stalls curved so as to dispose the backgrounds in the corner of a room. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of some of the parts in detail, and on an enlarged scale; and Fig. 5 is a (No model.)

perspective view of a spring that may be attached to the floor for holding the gate in position when changing the backgrounds.

I propose to employ a gate, a b, with rails or ways 0 on the horizontal bars for reception of the backgrounds d, by means of rollers 6, arranged on the back of it suitably for rolling along the rails and holding the background on it, as represented in the drawings, the gate being pivoted orhinged to any suitable support at its one end, as in Fig. 1, or at some intermediate point, as in Fig. 3, and the hinge-rod f being double-jointed or cranked between pivots g and h, in order-to enable the gate to be shifted about for altering the position of the background. WVith such a gate to hold the backgrounds, and being free to swing at one end, I arrange a series of stalls, i, to receive and store the backgrounds, said stalls being as close together as the requisite space for reception of the backgrounds will allow, and each having rails j, with which the rails c of the gate will coincide when swung to them, so that the backgrounds will readily run from the stalls to the gate, and from the gate to the stalls. The stile b of the swinging end of the gate is provided with one or more spring catches k, to engagewith the postl of the stall, to hold the gate while changing the background. For properly holding the other end of the gate at the same time, a spring, m, (shown on an enlarged scale in Fig. 5,) is to be attached to the floor to receive the bottom part or crank, n, of the hinge-rod, the spring being fastened at one end only, to allow the other end to slide along the floor, for being depressed by arm n to pass into its notch 0, by which it is to hold the hinge-rod in the required line with the stall.

As before stated, the stalls will be arranged in a straight line when the space will allow; but to provide for storing the backgrounds in less space, I propose to make them flexible by means of narrow strips or slats properly j ointed together, and to curve the stalls around a corner, as in Fig. 2, or around two corners, as

in Fig. 3, or more, if required, making them in complete circles, or nearly so, if desired.

The rollers e are grooved suitably for running on the rails; but grooved rails may be 2 amuse-2 employed with rollers to run in them, if desired, and other modifications of the details may be made.

My invention applies to other scenery as well as to the backgrounds of photographers rooms.

The gate is to be provided with a casterwheel, 2%, on the free end to prevent it from sagging, and, by preference, the lower guiderolls, 0, on the backgrounds (when used) will be located under the lower rails, c, to have better effect in bending the flexible back guides to the rails.

Having thus described niyinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A series of stalls, i, adapted for storing photographers backgrounds and other scenery, and having rails or ways on which to run the backgrounds or other scenery in and out, in combination with a gate having ways to correspond with the ways of the stalls, and capable of swinging from one to the other, and

with backgrounds or other scenery provided with rollers and'adapted to roll along the ways of the stalls and the gate, substantially as described.

2. The combination of flexible backgrounds (Z with the stalls and gate, the stalls being curved to change the direction of the backgrounds, substantially as described.

3. The gate a b, for supporting and changing the backgrounds, arranged on a double-j ointed hinge, f g h, in combination with a series of stalls for storing the backgrounds, the said backgrounds, gate, and stalls being arranged for rolling the backgrounds along the gate and stalls, substantially as described.

-4. The combination of a spring, on, with the double-jointed hingej'g h and gate a 1), sub 40 stantially as described.

\VILLIAM EVANS LTNDOP.

Vitnesses:

.lonN BAIRD, \V I L'LTAM G BEEN BA no LAY. 

